Adventures in Minecraft: Forged by Fire
by KattRai
Summary: When a young man leaves home to start his live on his own and meets an unlikely pair of allies, their adventures lead them to meet two others and are forged into true companions. A collection of one-shot stories about a five-man band, in-universe and described without outside-of-the-game-influence.
1. Connor

The sun was barely peeking over the horizon, and rising quick. I was, of course, sure I'd be fine. It's what I'd always done. Wandering off, that is. After all, I'd lived on a farm up until now, and with life like that, who wouldn't get bored? Anyway, I turned to my family, waving. "I'm off," I announced, pushing out my chest. "Are you sure you'll be okay?" asked my mother.

"I've got my sword," I assured her with a shrug. "I'll be fine." I turned, setting off. I knew this would be the last time I saw my family for a while. "Bye," I called behind me. "Be safe, everyone!"

Two hours later, I wasn't fine. I was hungry, alone, and surrounded by creepers. Without a bow. Of course. I had no clue what to do. Hide? Fight? No, not fight. Definitely not fight. I checked my bag to see what I could use. Fortunately, I found a ranged weapon. Unfortunately, it was tomorrow's breakfast: My eggs. _But, better to be hungry tomorrow morning than dead today, _I thought, pulling an egg out. I started to throw it, but when I looked up, the creeper I was watching was nowhere to be found.

That's when I heard it. The obvious hissing of a creeper close enough to blow up. So, l did what any brave, strong, good-looking guy would do - I ran, inwardly screaming my head off. However, I tripped and fell, feeling the heat of the living time-bomb going off behind me. The back of my neck felt singed, but I was alright. I stood up, looking around to check for any other monsters that wanted to suicide-bomb me to death. None were in sight anymore, so I checked behind me before setting off again. A smart person would have gone home, but not me - I was closer now than I'd ever been to a jungle. I could almost feel it. In turn, that meant I was one step closer to finding the lost art of golem-making - I'd never have to worry about those stupid creepers again!

You see, a long time ago, my great-great-great... well, I'll spare you how many generations it was.. grandfather found out if you combine certain things with... other certain things... you could create a great beast which instinctively kills monsters. That art was lost many years ago, though. My ancestor was a great guy - he invented a lot of stuff. Houses in one place, farming, breeding, mining, smelting, swords, picks, you name it - he came up with it. Well, except modern stuff - ships, cow-drawn carriages. I'm told I'm destined for greatness, being the descendant of Steve, but I'm not too into that. I'm not interested in killing a dragon or saving kingdoms from zombie invasions. I just want to learn to create golems, live on my own, and be safe.

Anyway, at that time I'd crossed into a tundra. I stopped, shivering, and pulled out a parka. I looked up, realizing I'd been walking all day. The sun was dropping now, almost as quickly as it had risen. I heard a sharp bark and straightened up. Wolves! Maybe if I could tame one, I'd be able to make it through the night. I made my way to the pack, who barely cast me as much as a glance. I knelt down to pull out some meat. That got their attention. I picked out a dark brownish gray wolf and tossed it the meat, and it took it immediately. It bounded over, tail wagging. I scratched it's head, and stood up.

_Okay, _I thought to myself, _I can handle the night now, I have a trusty wolf to help watch my back. _My loyal new best friend followed me as I ventured through the cold, empty tundra. It was freezing, but how long could it possibly take to reach the other side? I trudged on. By 6:00 it was totally dark and I could hear the zombies groaning as they dug their way out of the frozen ground. The clatter of skeletons' bones started making me paranoid. Suddenly, I wasn't so sure I could handle this anymore.

"Maybe we should head back, pooch." I told my dog, shooting him a look that must have been terrified. He barked something back, which made me start to smile until I realized he was growling. Then I heard the groans again- far louder than before- I took a deep breath as I gathered the courage to turn and see what was behind me.

It looked like a mini army of zombies and skeletons was coming to kill me. My brave new friend lept into action- I didn't know what to do. That's when I remembered my sword, and decided I had to use it. I managed to kill one or two of them before my dog started whimpering, it's tail between it's legs. I ran over to protect it and suddenly my leg was on fire. I fell, then turned and looked back to see what was wrong. My shoulder started burning, too, and I realized that I had been struck by an arrow. A third one dug into my side. I knew there was no sense in trying to get up, I'd never be able too. I yelled out for help. Then I realized the only things that would attract want to kill me. I knew I was dead, so i tried to move myself just enough to protect my dog. Maybe by the time they're done with me it'll be daylight and my unfortunate friend can find his pack again. I could only hope. As the zombies closed in, I remembered I had some spare fat trimmings and had rotten flesh from lunch and zombies, respectively. I pulled some out and fed it to the wolf, then stood up. I tried to wield my sword again, but blacked out.


	2. Phoenix and Felix

"That guy really sucked at fighting." My sister said as she jumped down from the tree she had been using to sharpshot the zombies and skeletons from. She was lucky, she got to stay over in the jungle while I was stuck doing the groundwork in the snow. My duel wielding with enchanted daggers allowed me to do some major damage against the hordes of undead that plague this land. As I cut through the zombies and skeletons, I finally reached the brand of human best described as somewhere between a boy and young man - probably a teenager. I passed the wolf which was growling feebly and picked the human up, making my way back to the jungle before more beasts came out. I got into the shrubs and trees, then motioned at Phoenix with my head.

"What are you doing with him? Being in his warrior in shining armor?" Phoenix asked with a teasing laugh.

"Is it so wrong to see someone in need and want to help them?" I asked, wishing she could just hold in her snide comments for just one day - or even ten minutes.

"Maybe - if you want him to wake up and slice your face off with his 'epic sword wielding' abilities," Phoenix responded. "Did you see him? He's just... so _bad."_

I rolled my eyes at my sister, whose deep red hair fell over her shoulder as she mocked his abilities. I saw my own amber eyes flash mischievously from under her hair. I simply ignored her comment, not wanting to feed her bashing. I simply continued wading through the bush.

We'd finally reached our tree-house, I laid the human on my bed and proceeded to carefully remove the arrows from his shoulder and leg. "You know, I still think we need to add a fireplace up here," Phoenix told me... again. It wasn't that funny the first time, let alone the twenty-third time. Maybe I should stop responding. Or counting.

"It's not funny anymore, Phoenix," I told her against my better judgement. "It never was, really."

"Well, _I _need something to cook on. He needs food, I have food, but no fire or furnace to cook it with. ...Maybe a torch would light the place up." she continued. I groaned.

I went ahead and built a make-shift furnace of types, and - under careful supervision - allowed Phoenix to use it. After several minutes, the mild silence was broken. The human gasped suddenly and shot up. "Ow," he yelped as he did so, sinking back down. "Okay, I'll be thinking twice before I do that again..." Suddenly, he trailed off, looking around and sitting up again, more slowly. "Who are you, and where am I?" he asked, looking somewhere between concerned and fascinated.

"You are in a house in a tree, in a jungle. My sister and I made it," I replied calmly. "If you want the coordinance-"

"I'm in the _jungle?_" he cut me off eagerly, his eyes widened. He struggled to stand up, staggering. "This is great! This is exactly where I need to be!"

"Oh? You actually planned on making it through that tundra? You had some high expectations kid." My sister snarked.

"I would have been fine, honestly. I had it covered, I was fine." The human argued. Even I could tell that was a lie.

"You know it's never a good move to overestimate your own ability. you really should stay calm and get some rest for a little while." I was trying to be helpful.

"But I'm so close! I can feel it! I can sense it in my bones." He exclaims.  
" I think what you're feeling is your bone marrow leaking into your bloodstream." Phoenix said rolling her eyes at him. "Cause you're feeling your bones alright... they're all broken"

"Um... no.. I'm pretty sure I'm fine." He said, shooting her a cold look.

"Uh-huh, that's why you were able to fight off all of those zombies so well, right? You killed like, what, two of them? Then ya passed out?" She fired back. She was just waiting on her meat to finish cooking, so he had all of her attention- which usually wasn't a fun thing to have.

"It was the _skeletons _not the zombies that got me!" His attempt to defend himself was amusing, because for once Phoenix was right. This kid needed help if he was going to survive.

"So, what is your name, human?" I asked him, cutting into their conversation.

"Connor. Yours?"

"Felix."

"Phoenix," My sister cut in almost as soon as I had finished saying my name.


	3. Don't Mine At Night

I had been with the twins Felix and Phoenix for three weeks now, and felt way better. In fact, good enough to start my search for the lost art. I'd gotten a bit used to Phoenix's remarks - but that didn't mean I liked them - and learned to deal with them at that point. So I started out to find a cave of any kind - I supposed that was a good place to start - and found one near the evening. All the same I didn't go back. I wasn't going to until I at least had some iron or something to show for it.

As I went in, I took out a torch, feeling pretty good about myself. I was going to be fine. I had a pickaxe, a sword, and a whole lot of torches. So I started in, glancing over the walls for any kind of ore or signs of old civilization. It was said that there was a jungle temple where the book of the golems was kept. Obviously, that's what I needed to find - I wasn't looking for some great adventure. Just a golem or two to protect my home. As I went deeper into the cave, I glanced back. Night was falling quickly again, but I didn't want to be out there with zombies. I turned back to the tunnels before me and quickened my step, making my way deeper into the darkness. Eventually, the clattering of bones and groan of zombies came to me. I tensed, realizing that this was very, very bad. There were skeletons and zombies in the cave, and there were skeletons and zombies outside the cave. Great. I came to a split in the tunnel after who knows how long, and glanced back behind my back nervously before hurrying down one. A mild glow filled the tunnel, but it wasn't from my torch. Lava. I couldn't decide whether that was a good or a bad thing. Usually monsters don't come near lava. But death _does. _

I carefully made my way into the cavern where a river of molten rock sluggishly meandered, glowing with heat. Ugh. This was in fact a bad thing. Suddenly, I got this sinking feeling in my stomach. I knew something really bad was about to happen. Even with that feeling, I went on, edging along the side of the lava river, desperate for something to show for all the trouble I was going through. I heard a groan behind me and stiffened, slowly turning. A zombie was slowly ambling this way, and I froze in fear for a minute, images of last time flashing through my mind. I won't lie - I was scared. The only way out was on the other side of that zombie and I had no clue where the path I was on would end. I turned, running as soon as fear loosened its grip. I had the distinct feeling that I'd lost the zombie after a few minutes, and slowed down. It really was hot down there. I looked around, passing a lava fall. A path branched off next to it, and I saw something that made my heart soar on the other side of the river.

Diamonds! I glanced behind me, not taking too much into account before I stepped out onto the path, running across to mine the beautiful, beautiful blue rock. I threw the pick into the stone, separating the diamond from the scarn. I hollowed the section out, finding several other clusters of diamond. I had never been so proud in my life - Surely even Phoenix wouldn't be able to snark at this! I threw the diamonds and pick into my bag before hurrying back toward the opening. I pulled out my sword, just in case, but no monsters came near - not even creepers. I bounded out of the mouth of the cave, forcing my way through the undergrowth. I headed straight back, unable to think of anything except bragging over my diamonds. Ten in all. I could see the treehouse now, and I couldn't possibly be more excited - nothing could possibly go wrong now!

Except, it did. That was exactly when I felt the burning of an arrow firing precisely into my back, just between the shoulderblades. I stiffened up, falling straight forward onto my face, and blacked out almost immediately.

I gasped deeply, shooting upright, only to be greeted by the laughing of Phoenix. Oh, great.

"You just got totally _owned _by that skeleton," she informed me. "Oh, look! I can still see where your helmet fell off!"

"Of course," I responded, falling back on the bed. "I completely didn't notice. It's not like I felt it or something, end sarcasm." I was too irritated to bother actually putting correct emphasis on the sarcasm of what I was saying. "I'm getting my stuff back. Now." I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, jumping up. I went on out onto the wooden planks outside the house and climbed down the vines on the trunk, carefully scanning the area for things that would rip my limbs off. After I was satisfied that I wouldn't be killed, I darted into the open, eyes shifting nervously. I picked up my bag and helmet, then slowly backed up a few feet before turning and hurrying back up the tree. As I got to the porch, a greyish brown head came into view and a sharp yip greeted me. I scratched the wolf behind the ears before going inside.

Once I entered the cozy, leafy tree house, I tossed my pack over onto the crafting table, opened the chest, and put my helmet back where it belonged.

"So, did you get anything out of your stupid stunt?" Phoenix asked me, her tone not sounding nearly as sincere as the words she was saying. I grunted something unintelligible. She must have taken that as a no, since she started laughing at my apparent suckiness again.

"Umm, Conner... I think that there's a lesson to be learned here... One that I think everyone else already knew." Felix said, trying not to sound condescending despite the fact that he obviously thought I was an idiot for staying out in those caves so late.

"What's that?" I asked him, bracing myself for whatever humiliating comment would come next.

"Don't mine at night."


End file.
